Promoter Eddie Hearn says nothing has been signed or agreed upon for the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 of February 22.
Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) are being talked about as leading or co-features on the card of Honorable Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season on February 22.
Bivol Provided
Hearn is eager for his fighter, the tough WBA light heavyweight champion, Bivol, to face Beterbiev for a chance to avenge his 12-round majority decision loss on October 12.
Matchroom promoter Hearn has maintained that Bivol deserved the win, but has kept his mouth shut and has not cried or complained about the decision since the night of the fight.
If Hearn wants to be upset with anyone, they should look at Bivol because he blew it. He didn’t have the heart to fight when Beterbiev put the heat on him. No matter how much Bivol ran and held, he could not stop Beterbiev.
People who didn’t have a dog in the hunt said Bivol gave away his chance to win by riding his bike from the seventh after Beterbiev went into his seek-and-destroy mode.
Bivol had no chance then. He was forced to flee because he was taking vicious shots from Beterbiev each time he stopped moving, and the roll he was doing didn’t help. Beterbiev fought with a hold and was hitting Bivol at will. Starting in the seventh round, Beterbiev dominated the last six rounds.
Sizwe: No Repeat Agreement yet
“Nothing has been signed and agreed upon regarding the replay. Yes, we know that His Highness called that rematch in the ring,” said Eddie Hearn speaking to Pro Boxing fans about the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on February 22. “There were discussions. Nothing is confirmed yet, and when there is, I’m sure he will make an announcement.”
Of all the top fights on the February 22 card, the most interesting is the Beterbiev vs. Bivol. There are seven great fights on the card, but this one overshadows them all.
February 22 card
– Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
– Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2
– Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr.
– Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
– Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
– Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
“Your main event is probably another difficult chess game. The main event was a chess game because Bivol did not break,” said Paulie Malignaggi speaking to Probox TV about the possible fight on February 22 between the undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Beterbiev will attack
It will be a chess game because of Bivol, not Beterbiev. He’ll look for a knockdown and put his Bivol’s feet in the fire right away rather than wait for the seventh round. Bivol knows he doesn’t have the strength to try to throw combinations as he tries to do it for the seventh time.
That’s how he hurt Beterbiev. Bivol has to hit, run, and catch that way because that’s his only chance. He doesn’t have the chin or power to stop Beterbiev because he lacks in those areas.
“If Beterbiev can make Bivol break a little like most of his opponents break and Bivol starts to lose ground because he can’t concentrate, that fight also opens up. That fight didn’t open up the first time because neither guy was breaking rank. It was a well-disciplined fight at the highest level,” said Malignaggi.
Standing = Non-Stop Motion
The area Malignaggi talked to Bivol about was how he started running when Beterbiev attacked because that’s what he did throughout the second half of the fight when he started to feel the heat. The position is correct to talk in code It’s Bivol’s Malignaggi going into survival mode and giving up the fight. He had not been trying to win since the seventh after Beterbiev was injured.
“Let me tell you how hard it is to do that when you’ve got guys trapping, and one guy [Beterbiev] it is very sharp and all the credits and nuances are possible. That was a very high level fight, I don’t know if words can describe it,” said Malignaggi.
“I can’t guarantee that that will happen again, but maybe it could happen because none of these guys were sure that they wouldn’t win this fight the first time. Beterbiev, to me, looked as if he was surprised that he had won the fight. Neither boy was convinced that the results would not have been otherwise.”
There was no surprise on Beterbiev’s face when the score was read. He knew he had won because Bivol stopped fighting in the second round, and it was clear who won. If you look at Bivol’s face, he knew he lost and showed no emotion when he was declared lost.
Beterbiev’s surprise?
The only upset was Hearn, who, when he was spastic, punched his stomach incessantly, a classic example of a bitter loss. He could have taken the high road and shown some class, but no, he had to make it worse in the post-fight interviews. He sounds like a spoiled brat.
“Beterbiev, to me, looked surprised that he got the decision. Bivol didn’t complain about not getting a decision, but it sounds like he could have. Most of the people felt that he could have received a decision,” said Malignaggi reading the missing items.
“It might be open, but no guy is going to break, and no guy is going to feel like he did enough the first time. I think he’s got a big fight there,” Malignaggi said.
There is a good chance that Beterbiev will stop Bivol next time because he knows he made a mistake. He started slowly, giving Bivol great respect.
Beterbiev knows he has to start fast, pressure, chase, and not let Bivol kneel because that’s what he’s going to do. Bivol is a pirate and he doesn’t care if he makes the war look bad by walking away. He wants to win at any cost.
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